World News

Saint Lucia Launches New Website

by


La Saint Lucia Tourism Authority accélère sa transformation digitale - Depositphotos.com @fokkebok

Top of Travel


The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority unveils a fully modernized version of its official website.

Designed as an immersive showcase of the destination, this new digital tool aims to facilitate the discovery of Saint Lucia for travelers, travel advisors, and industry partners.

The interface has been redesigned to offer smoother, faster, and more intuitive navigation, with particular attention paid to the mobile experience.

Immersive visuals, enriched content, videos and planning tools now structure the platform, allowing users to explore accommodations, activities, events, restaurants and attractions according to their interests more easily.

The site also provides access to seasonal offers, exclusive promotions and packages, in order to support both inspiration and the conversion of travel plans.


Saint Lucia: A Summer Campaign Focused on Experience and Emotion

This launch is accompanied by the new summer campaign “What Kind of Summer are You?”, designed to encourage travelers to imagine their ideal stay in Saint Lucia, balancing relaxation, exploration, gastronomy, romance and adventure.

The campaign highlights a curated selection of experiences and special offers spread across the island, with the aim of positioning Saint Lucia as a summer destination with strong experiential value.


For Louis Lewis, the managing director of Saint Lucia’s Tourism Authority, this evolution marks a strategic turning point: “Our new site strengthens Saint Lucia’s digital presence and serves as a dynamic platform dedicated to storytelling, inspiration and conversion.

Paired with our summer campaign, it invites travelers to experience the best of Saint Lucia, with exceptional offers and unforgettable experiences on offer.”


Amelia Brille Published by Amelia Brille TourMaG.com Writer
See all articles by Amelia Brille

  • picto Linkedin
  • picto email
Add TourMaG to your Google News feed Google Actualités icône  

Tourism in Geopolitical Turbulence: Industry Under Pressure

by


Tourisme mondial 2026 : une croissance résiliente malgré les turbulences géopolitiques, despositphotos.com

Top of Travel


Global tourism showed resilience in the first quarter of 2026, with 307 million travelers traveling abroad, or 6 million more than the same period in 2025, up 2%, according to the latest UNWTO barometer.

If January and February were marked by solid demand, rising by 2.5%, March saw a clear slowdown, up only 0.4%, directly linked to geopolitical tensions.

Europe and Africa emerge as the engines of this growth.

Europe, the world’s leading destination, hosted more than 130 million visitors, a 4% increase, benefiting in part from a shift in flows toward Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, the North and the East.


Tourism: The Middle East stalls

Africa also climbs by 4%, supported by a striking 18% jump in North Africa in March.

Asia and the Americas, by contrast, show more restrained momentum. The Asia-Pacific region posts an overall 3% growth, restrained by a 27% drop in South Asia due to air-transport disruptions, although Oceania, at +9%, and Northeast Asia, at +5%, register solid performances.

The Americas register a moderate 2% uptick, masking wide disparities between the dynamism of Central America at +18% and the downturn in South America at -1%.

To read: Tourism: after a difficult month of May, operators turn to the government!

Conversely, the Middle East is in a slump. The region is bearing the full force of the conflict, with a 14% drop in arrivals in the first quarter and hotel occupancy collapsing from 75% in January to 48% in March. Only Egypt stands out, with a pronounced 16% rise.

The Middle East conflict is profoundly altering the travel economy well beyond its geographical area.

Shaikha Al Nuwais, Secretary-General of UNWTO, notes that disruptions to air links, coupled with maritime instability in the Strait of Hormuz, are driving up the price of oil and kerosene.

This situation leads to a mechanical rise in airfares and a reduction in transport capacity.


Tourism: Transport costs darken the outlook

The Middle East conflict deeply reshapes the travel economy beyond its regional borders.

Shaikha Al Nuwais, Secretary-General of UNWTO, notes that disruptions to air links, coupled with maritime instability in the Strait of Hormuz, trigger a surge in the price of oil and kerosene.

This situation causes a mechanical increase in airfares and a reduction in transport capacity.

According to IATA, air traffic in the Middle East contracted by 61% in March, although global air traffic overall maintained a 4% growth for the quarter, thanks to the shift of flows toward European, Asian and African airlines.

In the face of these inflationary pressures and prevailing uncertainty, industry professionals display more measured optimism for the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere.

The UNWTO Confidence Index stands at 105 for May to August, down from 117 at the start of the year. Nearly two-thirds of experts believe that the conflict negatively affects demand.



These economic constraints push travelers to adjust their behavior: the search for value for money becomes paramount and demand tends to shift toward nearby destinations.

Despite this climate of uncertainty, which is expected to trim global growth by 1 to 2 percentage points versus initial forecasts, significant opportunities loom, notably for Canada, the United States, and Mexico, which are preparing to host the FIFA World Cup.

Únia Travel Joins DestiMaG, the DMC Directory

by


Únia Travel rejoint l’annuaire des DMC, DestiMaG - ©Collage destinations Únia Travel / Unsplash License

Top of Travel


Únia Travel est née de l’union de deux acteurs historiques du réceptif : VSJ Travel (Voyages Sant Julià) et Sol i Muntanya.

Cette fusion, officialisée le 1er décembre 2025, donne naissance à une structure renforcée, combinant deux cultures du terrain et une même philosophie du voyage sur mesure.

Avec plus de 40 ans d’expérience cumulée, l’équipe met aujourd’hui son savoir-faire au service des professionnels du tourisme, avec une promesse claire : transformer chaque demande en voyage fluide, cohérent et parfaitement adapté aux attentes des clients finaux.

Positionné comme partenaire des professionnels du tourisme, Únia Travel conçoit des séjours entièrement personnalisés à destination des groupes loisirs, seniors, associations, incentives ou MICE.

Son rôle couvre l’ensemble de la chaîne de production : sélection des hébergements, restauration, visites, guides, transferts, assistance locale et coordination opérationnelle. L’objectif est de proposer des programmes clé en main, sécurisés et adaptés aux contraintes des agences.

Les destinations couvertes incluent : l’Espagne, le Portugal, l’Andorre et l’Occitanie.


Une expertise terrain au service de la qualité et de la proximité

Fortement ancrée dans le terrain, l’équipe de Únia Travel met en avant une approche fondée sur la proximité, la réactivité et la connaissance fine des marchés francophones.

Cette expertise permet de construire des programmes adaptés au rythme des groupes, notamment les groupes seniors, avec des itinéraires équilibrés, des prestations adaptées et une logistique maîtrisée. L’accompagnement s’étend également aux voyages culturels, circuits thématiques, séjours festifs ou combinés multi-destinations.

L’approche d’Únia Travel repose sur une logique simple : aucun voyage n’est standardisé. Chaque projet est construit en collaboration avec les agences partenaires, en fonction du cahier des charges, du profil du groupe et des objectifs commerciaux.

Cette méthode permet de proposer des solutions ajustées, à la fois compétitives et qualitatives, tout en garantissant une expérience fluide du premier brief jusqu’au retour du groupe.


Une offre structurée autour de collections de voyages

Pour répondre aux différents besoins du marché, Únia Travel développe plusieurs gammes de produits :

Únia Signature : des programmes originaux et immersifs pour valoriser la découverte

Únia Classics : les circuits incontournables, équilibrés et faciles à commercialiser

Únia Essentials : des séjours accessibles, optimisés pour les budgets maîtrisés

Cette segmentation permet aux agences partenaires de disposer d’une offre claire, flexible et adaptée à chaque typologie de clientèle.



Únia Travel rejoint l’annuaire des DMC, DestiMaG
contactez Gentiane ROMANET, directrice commerciale :

– EMAIL : [email protected]

– TEL. +33 6 76 50 55 75

Niagara Falls Hosts Workshop for French Tourism Professionals

by


Les Chutes du Niagara s'invitent à Paris, Despositphotos.com

Top of Travel


Niagara Parks invites tourism professionals.

On the occasion of a workshop organized on June 11, 2026 at Flow Paris, French travel agencies and tour operators will be able to discover the latest developments.

At the heart of this 2026 season, Niagara Parks pursues a dual strategy: enriching the on-site experience and simplifying the purchasing journey for travel agents and tour operators.

The destination, which stretches over more than 56 kilometers along the Niagara River, thus broadens its offering. The season’s program highlights a diversification of outdoor activities and new technological attractions.

On this occasion, travel agencies and tour operators will be able to discover several major innovations, notably the Niagara Takes Flight project, presented as the province of Ontario’s first flying theater, as well as guided walking and educational tours. A new consolidated pricing system, the Niagara Falls Pass, will also be introduced to simplify visitors’ site experiences.


A network of Canadian partners mobilized for French travel agents

This meeting will allow industry professionals to engage directly with a delegation of Canadian representatives. In addition to the Niagara Parks office, several major operators from the region will attend, including transport companies Niagara City Cruises and Niagara Helicopters, as well as local hotel groups such as Fallsview Group, Canadian Niagara Hotels, and the Old Stone Inn Boutique Hotel.

To close the event, the organizers will offer various professional activities. A raffle will notably enable participants to win gift cards as well as a two-night study stay on site.

This trip will include access to local transport facilities, a helicopter sightseeing flight over the area, and an on-site welcome at the Table Rock Welcome Centre, the main observation point overlooking the Horseshoe Falls.

Workshop registrations: [email protected]

To read: Record year for Canada’s largest tourism fair

Puglia: Reale Family’s Success Story in Salento

by


Damiano Reale, sur la terrasse de la Masseria Fontanelle. Photo : Paula Boyer

Top of Travel


At the southern tip of the Puglia region—and thus of Italy—the Salento is a sun‑baked plain scattered with olive groves and grain fields bordered by dry-stone walls, inhabited by picturesque towns, among which Lecce, its capital, shines with Baroque architecture.

The Lecce region is also the cradle of one of the remarkable family sagas brought to light in the second half of the 20th century by the rise of the tourism industry: the Reale family.

Today led by two brothers, Damiano and Amedeo, this success story is embodied in three tourist ventures: Masseria Fontanelle, a charming 35‑room and suite hotel perched on the heights of Torre San Giovanni and the Ugento coastal Regional Natural Park; a beachside campsite in the same locality; and, a few kilometers away, Vivosa Apulia Resort, a seaside resort ideal for families.

The latest addition to their portfolio, Masseria Fontanelle has all the ingredients to captivate travelers seeking simplicity, authenticity and emotion.

In the 17th century, it served as the summer residence of Ugento’s Benedictine nuns. In the last century, it was transformed into a family-oriented tourist residence, gaining an additional first floor in the process.

After purchasing it in 2020, the Reales redesigned it with meticulous attention to detail, sustainability and… “the spirit of the place”.


An authenticity rooted in the region


Vue aérienne de la Masseria Fontanelle © Masseria Fontanelle

Decorated with antique everyday objects — plant-fiber cournets, wicker baskets, open-weave wooden benches, massive ceramic jars — this intimate, elegant and refined retreat does not immediately scream luxury. Yet it offers the true luxury of today: silence and an authenticity deeply rooted in the land.

This confidential adults-only address (children are admitted only from age 12) is ideal for resting and reconnecting with nature, provided one has the budget to indulge in one of three Junior suites or even one of the 32 rooms (three categories: “Patio”, “Vista” and “Masseria”) whose sobriety is thoughtfully crafted thanks to pale beige plasters, olive wood headboards, and stone-carved floor tiles.

Indeed, the “Patio” rooms, the most modest, are quite affordable at the start or end of season (from 129 € per night). But in high season, one can still expect up to… 850 € per night. The rates for the other, more spacious rooms are naturally higher.

At the restaurant there is offered –from breakfast buffet to dinner- a festival of local specialties and products sourced from short supply chains, sometimes “homemade” such as jams or olive oil.

Here, the chef does not chase performance; first and foremost he lets the territory be savored.


At the Spa, treatments inspired by Benedictine traditions


Les chambres "Patio" de la Masseria Fontanelle sont séparées par des ilots de plantes méditerranéennes. Photo : Paula Boyer

Faite de pierres calcaires apparentes, désormais agrémentée de deux terrasses d’où la vue porte jusqu’à la mer (idéal pour admirer le coucher du soleil !), la Masseria Fontanelle se niche sur un promontoire, au milieu des oliveraies, derrière une pinède peuplée d’impressionnants conifères où sont disposés transats, chaises longues, hamacs et lits de repos.

Tout autour, des espèces méditerranéennes résistantes à la sécheresse -bougainvillées colorés, grenadiers, lavandes, romarins, figuiers de barbarie, etc.- complètent le décor.

Le soir, sont proposées des séances de cinéma en plein air ou une programmation culturelle teintée de traditions locales. La soirée peut bien entendu se poursuivre au Bar.



Convertie en Spa intime, l’ancienne citerne du monastère propose, elle, des soins inspirés des traditions bénédictines à base d’ingrédients naturels comme l’huile d’olive et le miel.

Deux piscines, aménagées avec des matériaux écologiques, complètent l’offre. La mer n’étant qu’à quelques kilomètres, des navettes y conduisent à heure fixe.



Des vélos sont à disposition de ceux qui veulent se balader dans les collines environnantes, à moins qu’ils ne préfèrent s’y risquer à pied. Enfin, pour les plus curieux, la conciergerie organise des visites immersives, dans les bourgades environnantes.



La Masseria Fontanelle accueille aussi des réunions d’affaires dans sa petite salle MICE, des retraites de yoga (à l’initiative d’agences spécialisées) et se laisse volontiers privatiser pour des mariages.


At the beginning of this family saga, tobacco fields


La sobriété des chambres de la Masseria est très étudiée © Masseria Fontanelle.

Sometimes, at Masseria Fontanelle, you might accidentally encounter Damiano Reale, who today runs the family business with his brother. Not so surprising, in fact: he devotes 90% of his time to the tourism projects.

Listening to him, you appreciate the path traveled since the early 20th century!

At that time, the Reales were landowners. Their main activity? Tobacco. This crop they had first cultivated under agreements with the Italian Tobacco Manufacture, before moving on to turning the leaves into cigarettes.

This activity was so prosperous that wines came in second place.

Back then, the Reales — like many others in Puglia — sold their grapes to third parties or sold their red wines in bulk — sometimes with an alcohol content of 16 or 17 degrees — in northern Italy and even as far as France, where they helped boost the body and strength of local wines of mediocre quality.


“In the 1970s, we understood tourism was the future”


Noyé dans la verdure, à deux pas de la mer : Vivosa Apulia Resort ©Vivosa Apulia Resort.

Still, in the mid‑1960s, when tourism took off in the Puglia region, the Reales had the prudent idea of purchasing large plots by the sea near Torre San Giovanni/Ugento. It would be only in 1976 that they opened a campsite there. A pilot venture.

A few years later, the Reales took their first real plunge into the tourism industry by partnering to create a holiday club, by the Adriatic, near Otranto, one of the “most beautiful villages in Italy.” A club that bore the stamp of … Club Med!

“After a few years, we pulled out of that project. Yet from that moment, we had understood that tourism was the future,” recalls Damiano Reale.

Truth be told, a vocation had been born, all the more so as, at the same time, the Reales realized that the tobacco era would end.

When they stopped this cultivation in 2001, the Reales already had in mind the construction of the future Vivosa Apulia Resort on part of the land bought along the Ugento coast.


A successful All-Inclusive formula


Certified B Corp


L'engagement éco-eresponsable du Resort s'illustre aussi dans les ateliers pour enfants. © Vivosa Apulia Resort

Along the way, Vivosa Apulia has continued to deepen its eco-responsible commitment.

« Since last February, our resort has been certified as a B Corp, » boasts Damiano Reale. Indeed, this certification attests to high environmental standards, but also to ethical and sustainable management. « Today, we are the only hotel in Italy to have a positive carbon footprint, » he adds.

« To reach that, it took time. We had to work a lot and shift our staff’s mindsets, » insists Damiano Reale, for whom energy savings, waste sorting, combatting waste in all forms, and reducing single‑use plastics are no longer secrets.

Also, the aesthetics of the trees and local species planted around the resort serve first to be drought‑tolerant and to moderate the heat. Water fountains scattered here and there help avoid the need for plastic bottles. As for the solar panels installed along the resort’s edge, they provide 40% of its energy consumption.


Vineyards of quality now renowned


Dégustation de vins dans la pinède, à la Masseria Fontanelle Photo : Paula Boyer

Although deeply committed to tourism, the Reales have not renounced their rural roots. Indeed, in the 20th century, through a share agreement, the family’s vineyards located in Cellino San Marco, in the Lecce province, to the north of the Salento, had fallen into the hands of another branch of the family.

However, when they found themselves without an heir to manage them, Damiano, Amedeo and their father bought them back.

Since then, Damiano, who holds an agriculture degree like his father and grandfather before him, oversees the cultivation of the vines. Fortified by his business and marketing studies, Amedeo, for his part, handles the marketing of the wines, which, now bottled, benefit from the IGP Salice Salentino, a quality label awarded by Europe.

With 180 hectares, Vignetti Reale is the largest estate within this IGP dominated by small properties. And as he clearly does nothing halfway, Damiano is the president of the IGP.

Of course, the wines of Vignetti Reale are offered at the tables of their hotels. With, for enthusiasts, commented tastings, such as the one we participated in one evening at Masseria Fontanelle.

This was an opportunity to discover that the Salento is the premier terroir for the Negroamaro grape and, to a lesser extent, Malvasia Nera, varieties that yield powerful, complex and fruity red wines with a deep ruby robe. We also tasted a harmonious and balanced rosé, with a pale slightly orange-tinged robe, produced from the Susumaniello grape. And finally, a white based on Chardonnay, soft and fresh, with aromas of lychee and peach.

A confirmation that alongside their tourism revolution, the Apulia region has embarked on a true wine revolution. Another reason to visit!


PAULA BOYER Publié par Paula Boyer Responsable rubrique LuxuryTravelMaG – TourMaG.com
Voir tous les articles de Paula Boyer

  • picto Twitter
  • picto Linkedin
  • picto email
Ajoutez TourMaG à votre flux Google Actualités Google Actualités icône

Tourism Amid Geopolitical Tensions: Health of Industry Leaders and Employees at Stake

by


Le Tourisme face aux tensions géopolitiques : Cathy Bou, fondatrice et dirigeante d’AGAPÈ s’exprime sur le sujet © nidimages / Nicolas Demare

Top of Travel


Fresh from the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector is once again put to the test. Gulf monarchies, once hailed as the safest tourist destinations in the world, have in a single day become among the riskiest places.

Caught in a trap, thousands of holidaymakers turn to their travel agencies. Between emergency repatriations, destination changes and refund requests, travel agents and tour-operator teams, the magicians of our holidays, must face immense psychological pressures, and their mental health is undoubtedly affected. A silent deterioration of working conditions for these agents takes hold, exacerbated by the psychological precarity that the sector’s probable collapse could entail, with massive layoffs looming.

The closing of airspaces, navigational difficulties at sea, skyrocketing oil prices and surging insurance premiums have finally redrawn the map of zones accessible to tourists with fewer risks. “Dubai used to account for 70% of my annual turnover. Overnight everything collapsed. Today I spend two-thirds of my time reassuring clients who are blocked or panicked, while the remaining third is spent undoing what I had spent months building. Reprogramming isn’t even on the agenda given the great uncertainties about the end of this conflict in the Middle East. The hardest part for us travel agents is imagining our professional future. It’s truly depressing.” Sabrina, a staff member, portfolio manager for Maghreb and the Middle East at a French tour operator, shares with us.


Industry professionals on the brink of burnout

“We have shifted from dream merchants to firefighters. I used to sell dreams, dream destinations, voyages that changed lives. Now I am on the verge of becoming a psychologist, not knowing what tomorrow holds – how can we continue to sell when we are the ones on the edge of a nervous breakdown?” confides Sandrine, an employee at the same company. In this climate of emotional precarity and operational survival, how can a process aimed at achieving certifications or labels such as Travelife-ISO20121 – 26000-ATR or any other framework be steered?

What challenges lie ahead for the CSR approach, and what levers can the CSR consultant pull?


Challenge 1: Priorities

When a crisis hits in the middle of a certification-support process, the CSR consultant faces the paradox of priorities: urgency versus the standard.

Sabrina has just spent the day coordinating the evacuation of 200 tourists stuck in Abu Dhabi without success. The airport and the region’s airspace are closed. Sandrine has spent the last half hour dealing with the anger of a young married couple whose honeymoon in Dubai has just been cancelled. The two employees are in an extremely tense emotional state. At the same moment, the CSR consultant accompanying their company toward renewing its certification enters the office. The look she exchanges with the two employees convinces her that this is not the right moment to discuss standards*.

* The names have been altered to avoid identifying the individuals concerned


Challenge 2: Embody CSR, not endure it

For Agapè, the CSR consultant’s role in such a context is to show empathy, to listen to the management and to the employees, and not to appear as a zealot defender of the standard, adding an extra workload. The consultant has a moral obligation to immerse themselves in the palpable tensions in order to reshape the certification process agenda, reorganize the schedule, and demonstrate that it is ultimately a pedagogy, a guidance toward practices that preserve human beings first, then the planet.


Challenge 3: Social effectiveness

The social dimension is the central pillar of any corporate social responsibility approach, says Cathy Bou, founder and CEO of AGAPÈ.

Lately, we are encountering many cases of psychological pressure and decline in the quality of life and working conditions (QVCT). Our own situation could deteriorate as we encounter sensitive scenarios. Yet, our reading of the frameworks requires us to prioritize the protagonists, to consider sustainability in its entirety (Social, Economic, Environmental). It is certainly common for environmental concerns to take precedence.

The challenge for the consultant in this anxiety-filled climate for company leaders and their employees is to be a buffer between all parties. To succeed in their mission, the consultant must ensure that the management’s order of priorities is reversed. “They must convince the leadership to place health and safety — for themselves, their employees, collaborators and other providers — at the top of the CSR priority stack.” No certification would be credible if it is built on social distress and the collapse of teams. In such a case, the initiative would be nothing more than a “social-washing”.

When the initiative lacks humanity, when the consultant and the management ignore distress, the CSR standard will inevitably be perceived as cynicism by stakeholders, a new checkbox for the management. “We are asked to be eco-responsible certified, to think about carbon footprints or waste management while there are sickness absences, burnouts, fatal accidents during missions — it’s the height of cynicism.”


Contact Agapè CSR to initiate your process


Pioneers Forum 2026: Egypt Faces the Uncertainty Challenge

by


L’Égypte, une destination emblématique du tourisme international, aujourd’hui engagée dans une nouvelle phase de transformation © IStock

Top of Travel


This 24th edition will bring together 130 sector leaders — tour operators, distributors, hoteliers, transporters, institutions, technology experts, insurers — around a market that alone concentrates a large share of the tourism industry’s current challenges. Post-crisis recovery, fierce competitive pressure, price wars, the role of air travel, evolving customer expectations, and the weight of geopolitical context: Egypt today concentrates many of the questions professionals are asking.

As the sector must learn to move forward in an increasingly unstable environment, the choice of Egypt takes on its full significance. For the destination, what is at stake is not merely a grand travel narrative, but a practical demonstration of what it takes today to restart momentum, refine a positioning, and adapt a tourism model to a shifting context.


A destination that blends heritage and transformation

Egypt stands as a benchmark in international tourism. Few destinations concentrate such a density of heritage, culture, and symbolic significance. Millennia-old sites along the Nile’s banks and the Red Sea’s coastal resorts make the country a premier choice for many travelers.

Today, the destination no longer rests solely on its heritage: it has embarked on a profound transformation of its tourism model. It must both capitalize on its fundamentals and meet new expectations that are increasingly demanding: quality of experience, clarity of the offering, smoothness of itineraries, and diversification of products.

In 2024, it already reached a record with 15.78 million visitors. In 2025, it pushed further, welcoming nearly 19 million tourists, a 21% year-over-year rise, exceeding even the goals announced a few months earlier by the authorities.

These figures position Egypt as a genuine case study. First, because they illustrate an exceptional rebound capacity after years marked by crises. Second, because they show that the recovery does not rely on a single engine. Charter traffic to Egyptian destinations rose by 32% in 2025. The country’s archaeological sites and museums, excluding NMEC and the Grand Egyptian Museum, welcomed 18.6 million visitors, a 33.5% increase year over year.

Led by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, this evolution rests on several structural axes: modernization of infrastructure, upgrading of the offer, diversification of experiences, and strategic repositioning on the international stage. The full opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum fits this logic: a country seeking to reaffirm its place on the international tourism stage by renewing how it tells its story and how visitors experience it.

This dynamic must also be read in a context of intense competition. Egypt operates in markets where comparisons with Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, or Greece are immediate, and where the value-for-money proposition is decisive again. In the French market, the destination rose 26% in Orchestra’s August 2025 index, driven in particular by a lower average spend. Once again, the message is clear: the recovery exists, but it is also built through commercial, pricing, and distribution battles.


A coordinated mobilization of the destination’s actors

The arrival of the 2026 Pioneers Forum fits within a collective momentum driven by several key players in the sector, whose roles deserve closer scrutiny.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities occupies a central place. This is not merely institutional support, but a true strategic actor. Behind the 2025 results lies a political will to strengthen the country’s attractiveness, accelerate investments, expand hotel capacity, and better structure the tourism offering. The ministry thus carries a long-term vision, aiming to continue elevating the destination in the years ahead.

EgyptAir, as the national carrier, represents a central challenge for any tourism destination: accessibility. In a market where air travel directly shapes flows, competitiveness, and the ability to sustain volumes, its role is decisive.

Travel Evasion, Egypt specialist, provides essential operational expertise. Its on-the-ground knowledge helps reveal the destination’s diversity beyond rhetoric. Travel Evasion is committed to showcasing the country’s variety through itineraries that weave culture, cruises, and seaside experiences. It’s this type of expertise that helps reveal a destination beyond clichés and makes it legible for both professionals and travelers.

The coordination of these actors also illustrates a fundamental shift in the industry: a destination’s performance relies less on mere renown and more on the quality of coordination among institutions, carriers, and operators. Egypt thus offers a particularly compelling example of a collective approach to building tourism competitiveness.


Rethinking models in an uncertain context

The 2026 theme, “steering the uncertain”, will find a particularly relevant echo in Egypt.

In tourism, steering the uncertain means continuing to plan, sell, invest, reassure, and arbitrate even as parameters can evolve very quickly: geopolitical tensions, perceived safety concerns, economic fluctuations, demand shifts, dependence on aviation, price pressures, changes in buying behavior, and the rising influence of technologies like artificial intelligence.

Egypt crystallizes precisely these challenges. The destination has demonstrated a genuine ability to restart its tourism momentum, win back markets, and rebuild its appeal. Yet it remains exposed to the factors that today drive the sector’s fragility: a sensitive regional context, strong price competition, reliance on connectivity, and an image that external factors can rapidly affect.

That is why it constitutes a particularly fitting case for the Pioneers: Egypt does not merely endure uncertainty, it engages with it. It adjusts its offer, strengthens its infrastructure, improves accessibility, invests in new markers of desirability, and tries to transform vulnerability into adaptability. This trajectory speaks to actors far beyond the Egyptian case, because it raises a question that all tourism players face today: how to decide when not everything depends on you?

Observing how a destination like Egypt progresses in this complexity provides the 130 leaders present with material for reflection on their own practices, their models, their leeway, and their management tools.


Lors de cette 24e édition, les décideurs du tourisme pourront croiser leurs regards, confronter leurs expériences et mieux comprendre les dynamiques d’un secteur en mutation. © Jules Despretz / Forum des Pionniers 2025


We are eager to welcome the Pioneers back for this new edition, which promises to be ambitious, inspiring, and deeply connected to the sector’s realities.

There are only a few spots left for general attendees.

💌 Contact us.


Installment Payments: A Crisis-Proof Strategy to Navigate Uncertainty

by

The Freefall in Bookings for Spring 2026

© Fuzz - Pixabay

Top of Travel


The barometer figures from EDV-Orchestra, published in April 2026, sketch a crisis landscape for the travel sector. March records a 15% drop in the number of bookings and a 19.4% decline in booking revenue, while departures are down 9.7% in the number of travelers.

Long-haul travel is particularly battered by tensions in the Middle East, with a 29% drop in bookings. The disruptions to Gulf hubs (United Arab Emirates and Qatar) are to blame, while Egypt and Turkey lose more than 66% of their bookings.

And for the summer of 2026, the outlook confirms this weakened trend: bookings for July–August are already 7% below last year in revenue. More telling still, the share of late bookings rises by 7% compared with 2025.

This dynamic weighs heavily on agencies and tour operators: March and April, traditionally key months for locking in summer sales, prove disappointing, creating unprecedented pressure on cash flow.


Installment payments, an immediate lever in the face of the crisis

In this tense context, installment payments (or BNPL, “buy now pay later”) emerge as an immediate operational response. First lever: remove budget constraints as prices soar. The average cart for summer 2026 already reaches €3,040, and long-haul packages are soaring due to the combined effects of rising jet fuel costs and tightening air capacity.

In this setup, the ability to split the payment into 2, 3 or 4 installments without fees dramatically changes the perception of cost. Sector data compiled by Alma confirms: BNPL leads to a 20% increase in the average cart for packages that combine transport and lodging. This uptick signals a psychological shift: rather than giving up in the face of a high price, the customer authorizes the trip initially planned by smoothing the financial outlay.

Second lever, crucial in the 2026 context: supporting the late-booking shift. The hesitancy linked to current uncertainty translates into an explosion of last-minute bookings, at the moment when prices are the highest. In this setup, installment payments offer this flexibility in a few clicks, with the same ease as a cash payment, even for substantial sums. Contrary to common beliefs that BNPL is limited to small baskets, solutions like Alma accept transactions up to €15,000, thus covering most family needs and even premium segments.

Third dimension often underestimated: adaptation to multichannel. Alma’s data thus show that 40% of installment payments in the travel sector are made at physical agencies. Just as during the Covid crisis, periods of uncertainty see customers favor human contact in agencies or by phone to be reassured. Alma supports this dynamic by enabling networks to offer installment payments across all channels, ensuring a consistent experience no matter the contact point.


Why over 410 operators have already embraced Alma

BNPL is now widely adopted in the travel sector. More than 410 operators currently trust Alma, including industry heavyweights: SNCF Connect, Sunweb, KLM, Perfect Stay, Weekendesk, Compagnie des Alpes, Showroomprivé, Corsica Ferry, Campings.com, and GNV.

The results speak for themselves: +10% in acquiring new customers, 15 to 30% of revenue generated via BNPL depending on the period, +6% loyalty. Installment payments facilitate the purchase decision at every stage, from discovery to repeat bookings.

This performance rests on a scoring model tailored to travel specifics. In a sector with high baskets and sometimes impulsive decisions, Alma has developed industry expertise that guarantees the maximum acceptance rate without increasing risk exposure.


When Installment Payments Become Essential

Beyond the cyclical response to the current crisis, BNPL is thus part of a durable transformation of consumer behavior. Today’s travelers refuse to choose between anticipation and flexibility. They want to be able to book at the moment they deem opportune, with payment options suited to their personal situation.

In a market that remains volatile, installment payments offer a structural answer. They turn uncertainty into a commercial opportunity by supporting new behaviors rather than letting them be dictated by conditions.

For travel professionals, Alma is no longer just an option but a permanent lever for commercial steering. In times of crisis, the solution secures sales by lifting budget barriers and supporting the late booking. In growth phases, it maximizes the average cart and improves loyalty.

While fuel surcharges accumulate and prices are not expected to revert immediately to pre-crisis levels, waiting for customers to get used to new rates is not a strategy. Alma offers an immediate solution to unlock sales: ease purchasing by smoothing the financial outlay, even for baskets now exceeding €3,000. More than 410 operators have already made this choice.


Would you like to learn more or propose Alma to your clients?


Le paiement fractionné, réflexe anti-crise pour piloter l'incertitude

Email : [email protected]

Site web : www.almapay.com

linkedin


Travel Insurance: Medical Assistance, a Must-Have for Peace of Mind

by


© Adobe Stock

Top of Travel


For a long time, travel insurance was seen as an optional choice or a “plus” reserved for distant destinations. Today it is an essential reflex, both for travelers and for tourism professionals. At Allianz Travel, the daily experience of complex medical cases underscores a simple truth: a medical contingency can turn a dreamed trip into a challenging ordeal, emotionally and financially.

Why have medical assistance covers become indispensable? What concrete risks do uninsured travelers face? And how can tourism professionals guide their clients toward the right protections? An analysis.


Medical expenses often underestimated by travelers

When planning a trip, clients devote substantial time to selecting the destination, the accommodations, and the activities. Health, however, is not always prioritized, especially for short trips or destinations perceived as “safe.”

Abroad, the handling of medical costs varies greatly from one country to another. In the United States, Canada, or Japan, a simple emergency room visit can run into thousands of euros. Hospitalization, or even surgery, can send the bill soaring into the tens or hundreds of thousands of euros. Even within Europe, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles access to medically necessary care during temporary stays in the European Union, but it does not cover everything: it does not replace travel insurance or comprehensive assistance, notably for repatriation.

In this context, traveling without appropriate coverage is a risky bet, with potentially considerable financial and personal consequences.


Medical expense coverage: avoiding a substantial financial burden

The emergency medical expenses reimbursement guarantee covers, within the ceilings defined by the contract, health costs incurred abroad: consultations, medications, tests, hospitalization, surgery, and emergency dental care. It often complements social security schemes that partially reimburse care carried out outside France.

At Allianz Travel, policies are designed to reflect the realities of today’s destinations, with high ceilings for medical expense coverage. This protection also allows travelers to be guided toward medical facilities suited to their situation, thereby sometimes avoiding abusive practices, depending on the destination. This is why contacting Allianz Travel’s medical teams before incurring any expenses is essential.


Medical repatriation: a medical decision that centers on the patient

Contrary to common myths, medical repatriation is never a comfort-driven decision. It is assessed exclusively according to medical criteria, in the patient’s best interest.

A repatriation may involve: a commercial flight with medical escort, a medical evacuation by air, and specific equipment (stretcher, oxygen, monitoring).

Its cost can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of euros depending on the destination and the patient’s condition. Without insurance, this expense falls entirely on the traveler and their family.

Allianz Travel teams rely on a global network of doctors and partners, capable of rapid intervention. This operational capacity makes all the difference when every hour counts.


Telemedicine: immediate access to a doctor, even thousands of kilometers away

Medical teleconsultation is another major asset offered by travel insurance. Unsure about a symptom? Need guidance on what to do next? It enables travelers to consult with a doctor 24/7, in their own language, without traveling, and to receive a prescription in many countries if necessary. This solution, now widely adopted in the market, provides reliable and immediate medical input for many minor situations, reassuring and guiding travelers, and sometimes avoiding unnecessary consultations or hospitalizations.


Travel insurance as a trusted partner


Example of a real medical case handled by Allianz Travel teams

While vacationing in Senegal, a 68-year-old patient alerted our platform after being admitted to a local hospital 150 km from the capital. The facility was not suitable for his pathology, so the medical teams evacuated the patient to Dalal Diam Hospital in Dakar, which has an intensive care unit dedicated to contagious diseases.

As the patient’s condition deteriorated, we quickly decided to charter a medical aircraft to repatriate him to France as quickly as possible. With the help of our contractor, the patient was placed on a stretcher and isolated in a bubble to protect the accompanying medical team and the flight crew.

Within a few hours the medical aircraft reached Grenoble University Hospital Center, where the patient could be readmitted to the intensive care unit.


Follow us


Assurance voyage : l’assistance médicale, un indispensable pour voyager l’esprit léger
Allianz Partners is the world’s leading B2B2C provider in the fields of assistance, travel insurance, international health, and car insurance.

The group employs more than 22,500 people in 70 countries, speaking 70 languages and handling 95.4 million cases every year, and is committed to going further to bring peace of mind to clients worldwide.

Global Assistance, Allianz Travel and Allianz Assistance are trademarks of Allianz Partners France.

24/7, 365 days a year, we operate worldwide to provide our corporate and private clients with assistance solutions in the areas of automotive, travel, leisure, mobility, housing, employment, health, and services.

linkedin


Pioneers Forum 2026 Theme: Navigating Uncertainty

by


Cap sur l’Égypte pour la 24ᵉ édition du Forum des Pionniers. Du 30 mai au 4 juin, 130 décideurs du tourisme se réuniront pour explorer un thème au cœur des enjeux du secteur : piloter l’incertain. © iStock

Top of Travel


For over 20 years, the Forum des Pionniers has gathered yearly tourism and business travel decision-makers to broaden their thinking about the sector’s major shifts and to expand their network. Each edition is also an opportunity to (re)discover a destination.

When disruptions stack up

In 2026, instability has become the norm. Geopolitical upheavals, widespread inflation, climate disruption, the entry of artificial intelligence: the travel industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation.


Geopolitical fragmentation is brutal. The conflict in Ukraine has already erased $44.5 billion from the outbound market. The flare-up in the Middle East has cost regional tourism 515 million euros per day. Where growth of 13% had been anticipated, declines of up to 27% were recorded. The Hormuz Strait was paralyzed, kerosene rose from $750 to $1,900 per ton in six weeks, triggering extra costs that were passed through to airfares starting in the spring.

A divisive question will be posed to the Pioneers: absorb, pass through, or wait? Three strategies, three different outcomes, because supplier agreements were signed in a context that no longer exists. A shock of six weeks is manageable. A shock of six months calls everything into question: the organization, the contracts, the teams. And the April 8 ceasefire does not change the price of kerosene. IATA is clear: the return to normal will take months. Many have built their summer plans on assumptions that no longer hold.

Beyond these geopolitical and economic shocks, climate disruption is no longer a distant risk. In 2025, natural disasters cost $107 billion in global insured losses, according to Munich Re.

Every other summer now, a destination that is marketed burns, floods, or becomes difficult to market in peak season. The question is no longer whether the catalog should evolve, but whether operators have already updated their offering, or if they still treat each episode as a separate incident. Climate risk will eventually raise insurance costs, weaken entire destinations, and weigh on margins in the long run. Some have already integrated it into their decisions. For many, it remains a topic they postpone.

This double geopolitical and climate shock also weakens the fabric of the industry. Cash reserves have not had time to recover since Covid. The players who fared best share one trait: the ability to pool risks, to forge alliances, to build collective resilience rather than go it alone. The real question for the leaders gathered in Egypt for this edition: if the same shock reoccurs in 18 months, what would they do differently, and why aren’t they doing it already?


AI: Co-pilot or Source of Concern?

In 2026, artificial intelligence is asserting itself in the tourism professions. It no longer merely calculates; it writes, advises, and creates. But its entry into organizations raises as many questions as it claims to answer.

First domain: risk anticipation. Tools now integrate in real time geopolitical signals, climate alerts, and traveler advisories. The horizon is scanned, risks are scored, automated alerts are produced. Yet cancelling a program 45 days out, hedging kerosene prices six months ahead, maintaining a destination when states advise against it: these choices remain human, solitary, and irreversible. The co-pilot sees far ahead. The pilot bears the burden alone.

Second domain: travel recommendations. Reducing the traveler brief by 60%, field adoption rates above 80%: the numbers show the tools work. But they pose a deeper question. When AI prepares and humans approve, what becomes of expertise? Is it mere quality control or a true enhancement of judgment? What the client does not say—the hesitation, the unspoken wish, the unformulated family constraint—remains entirely on the human side.



Au Forum des Pionniers, chaque participant
est acteur de la réflexion. Un cadre bienveillant
où l’on prend la parole, où l’on confronte
ses visions et où l’on construit ensemble.
© Jules Despretz / Forum des Pionniers 2025

Third domain, more delicate: what happens within teams. AI is embedding itself in organizations from the top with a strategic decision, a deployed tool, and expected adoption. But it is on the ground where the real dynamics unfold. The advisor who sees their brief reduced. The marketing team whose content is generated in seconds. The back office whose tasks are automated without consultation. AI does not eliminate day-to-day jobs overnight; it quietly reconfigures the roles. And it is precisely this silence that can generate resistance, disengagement, and a loss of meaning.

Ultimately, the challenge is not choosing between humans and machines, but redefining their complementarity. What is human expertise worth if AI can model professional knowledge, surpass data analysis, and personalize at scale? What remains— and perhaps that is the essence— is responsible decision-making, engaged judgment, and human presence in moments of doubt.


Egypt: far more than a backdrop, a lesson in resilience

The choice of Egypt as the destination for this 24th edition is not accidental. A land of millennial hospitality, the country embodies the tensions and promises that cut across the sector: a destination essential in the midst of geopolitical reconfiguration, it must manage the saturation of its iconic sites, protect its natural treasures, and modernize its infrastructure while continuing to welcome the world.

For the Pioneers, Egypt will be both a ground for reflection and a ground for discovery. Immersive activities will allow exploring its treasures while continuing exchanges in an exceptional setting, faithful to the Forum’s DNA: blending usefulness with pleasure, stepping back to gain perspective.


Le Forum des Pionniers : un format collaboratif pour confronter les visions, faire émerger des idées et co-construire des réponses opérationnelles. © Jules Despretz / Forum des Pionniers 2024



About ESCAET and Travel-Insight


Com Namibia is a tourism news media sharing travel stories, destination updates, and global tourism trends from a Namibian perspective, with a strong focus on Africa and the wider world.

Main office

Maerua Mall Office Tower
Jan Jonker Street
Windhoek
Namibia

[email protected]

© 2026 Com Namibia